Between Heaven and Hell
by MartyrFan
Summary: What happens after Clove and Rue are killed by Thresh in the 74th Hunger Games? What awaits them in their afterlives? What happens when they are brought back? My first crossover. Rated T for violence and hellish images.
1. Part I: Clove

Part 1: Clove

I'm dying. That much is obvious. The blow that Thresh landed on my head with that rock is certainly fatal. I feel him remove the rock after bashing me with it—from within my skull, that is. I had been so focused on the District 12 girl that I had never heard him coming up behind me. I can hear Enobaria now, yelling at me for being too focused on my objective and not noticing the ambush coming up from behind. At the same time I can hear Katniss and Thresh talking. From what I can make out, they're discussing the District 11 girl's death and Katniss's role in it. I hope he nails her with that rock.

Instead, I hear him telling her that he's going to spare her this once, "for the little girl." He can't do that. The Gamemakers can't let him do that.

I can hear Cato yelling close by. My name, I think. Everything is fading, my vision, my hearing. Even the pain in my arm from Katniss's arrow is starting to disappear as well. I hardly felt anything from the dent in my skull. I'm slightly aware of Thresh and Katniss leaving the scene and of Cato kneeling beside me.

"Clove, don't leave me. Please don't leave me. We can leave the arena together. We can win. Please, Clove…." His face swims into my rapidly-decreasing field of vision, and then disappears again. In that brief glimpse I see fear, anger,…and grief, in his eyes. Everything is fading around me. The feel of the grass is disappearing and so is the blue of the sky. As the physical world goes away, the memories start playing through my head. My first steps and words, walking through the town square with my little sister Calliope, being accepted into the Academy, training with my friends and Cato, graduating from the Academy, the Reaping, the Parade, the Interviews, the start of the Games, everyone I killed at the Cornucopia, the tracker jackers, the deaths of Marvel and Glimmer, and now my own. I can't help but wonder, "Did it have any meaning, my life?"

I hear Cato call my name one last time, and then the darkness claims me. I'm not dying anymore. I am dead. As a sensation not unlike sleep comes over me, I get the feeling that I'm moving in a downward direction. I'm also feeling a lot of warmth on my back.

I wake up but keep from opening my eyes. How I can I open my eyes? I'm dead. I shouldn't have a body, yet I can feel my arms and legs. Hesitantly, I will my limbs to move and they do so. Maybe I'm not dead. Maybe it was all a dream, a nightmare, and Cato and I are going to the feast today to ambush everyone. Heart pounding, I open my eyes and look up.

Rock. A rock ceiling instead of the green canopy that I fell asleep under. I sit up and look around cautiously. I'm in a cave. A rocky tunnel with a reddish hue. The strange thing is that there are no light sources around, but the cave appears to be well lit. I stand up and nearly hit my head on the ceiling. There are two directions I can take and they both end in inky darkness. I choose to start walking forward.

After about a dozen steps, I realize something. It's not getting any darker. I turn around and look back at the place where I woke up. I can barely see it. I turn back, take a few more steps, and then look back again. My waking spot has been completely lost. The light is following me. I continue walking. The tunnel is completely straight and level, yet the patterns in the rock seem familiar. I reach inside my jacket for a knife to make a mark on the wall, but freeze. "What the?" I'm wearing my clothes from the arena but all my knives are gone. I yank my jacket off and then look through my pockets. No weapons, no food. Great.

I settle for memorizing the patterns in the cave wall on my right and continue on, watching the right wall. A few minutes later, I come across the same pattern. This can't be happening. I can't be walking in circles. The tunnel has no offshoots and it doesn't curve at all. This time I run and in no time at all, I come to the same place again. I look on the ground for footprints and find nothing. The cave's floor is solid rock. I'm suddenly overcome with a sense of fear so intense I can barely breathe. I collapse to the ground and hug myself. "What's happening to me?" I whisper.

"That's the million dollar question, isn't it?" comes a mocking voice from the darkness. I'm on my feet in a second as a man walks out of the shadows towards me. His skin is lightly tanned, and he has blond hair and blue eyes. He's dressed in what looks like a Peacekeeper's uniform, only it's red. He could compete with Finnick Odair when it comes to male appeal. Any other place than this and I would appreciate his looks a lot more.

"Where am I? Who are you?" I shout, getting into a defensive position. That uniform doesn't look like the real deal, but there's no telling what this guy can do.

He flashes me a disarming smile. "Explaining your location would probably cost you some important brain functions, like breathing. Who I am is an easier question. My name is Stalvo. Welcome to my domain, Clove."

"Stalvo, huh? Dumb name. Where are my knives? If you've taken them, I swear I'll strangle you, yo…AAAAAHHHHHH!" Pain explodes through my entire body and I hit the ground. It feels like someone is sticking me full of red hot knives.

The pain ends as quickly as it begins. I lay there gasping for air as Stalvo stands over me seething. "You will show me the proper respect, worm. I was in the company of the Most High when your race was nothing but dust," he bellows. I notice that his eyes have turned a poisonous shade of yellow.

He suddenly brightens up again, but his eyes stay yellow. "You left your knives behind in the physical realm, Clove. You see, you're dead. You died in the arena, killed by Thresh, a tribute from District 11. How absolutely ashamed your family and your district must be of you."

"Shut up," I scream. I jump up and slug him in the face. No sooner do I make contact with his flesh than I'm struck with the same pain again. I drop again and this time the pain lasts several seconds longer. "Ooowww, what are doing to me?" I groan.

"Nothing much. I'm just giving you small tastes of the punishment you're about to take for your sins. Let's see now." He takes a list out of a pouch and studies it. "Murder, lying, cheating, lusting. Yep, just like everyone else who comes here. All, or almost all, of the sins in the book."

"Where is here?" I ask, still wincing from the pain. His grin widens and before my eyes his teeth turn sharp like a predator's.

"Why, Hell's Gate of course." He begins transforming right in front of me. His pupils turns into slits, the yellow iris of his eyes overcomes the whites. His fingernails turn into claws, shredding the list, and I can see the same coming out of his shoes. His uniform turns into a disgusting combination of scales and fur, and two huge leathery wings extend out of his back. I press myself into the tunnel's wall, instinctively trying to get away from this monstrosity. When he's done, he looks like a muttation, a cross between a man, a bat, and a reptile.

He grins horribly down at me. "Welcome to the rest of your existence." He snaps his fingers, or rather, claws. The tunnel dissolves and light explodes in my face. I'm falling down into what looks like a sea of fire. I can smell the stink of sulfur and burning as I plummet into the fiery abyss. I scream and scream and scream as I fall. I can hear Stalvo's mocking laughter. I look up to see him circling me as I fall. He smiles at me. "What did you expect? After all you've done, this is your reward. Enjoy."

I look down and manage to give one last scream just before I hit the ground. A fall of that distance, I should've broken every bone in my body. All it does is hurt terribly. The ground is burning hot, and there are flames all around, burning uncontrollably. I stand up only to get nearly blindsided by a big man. He howls miserably and disappears into the flames. Looking around, I realize that there are thousands upon thousands of people stumbling around in the flames, fighting each other for the clear patches of ground only to be pushed back in. Part of training at the Academy involved learning about the warriors of the past. I see plenty of these. Centurions, samurai, Huns, Mongols, ninja, every type of soldier from every war. Alongside them are absolutely ordinary people, all wearing different types of clothing from every culture imaginable. The extraordinary are also here. A huge 12-foot man stumbles by, wailing in a bass unmatched in District 2. There are even peacekeepers and Capitol citizens walking around in the inferno.

A shriek sends many cowering to the ground. I look up just in time to get raked across the face by a horrific caricature of a bird. I'm sent flying into a patch of fire. The pain I felt when Stalvo tortured me is nothing compared to this agony. I stumble out of the fire only to nearly get shoved back in. "Murderer!" screams the bird as it flies away. I'm now aware of hundreds of similar creatures, flying, walking, and even crawling through the masses, inflicting pain as they go. A sudden burst of agony shoots up from my leg. I look down to behold a worm-like demon, yes, they could only be demons, gnawing on my leg. I manage to kick it off. "Yes, a murderer of children," it gargles as it crawls away.

"I only did it because they told me to," I wail. "I was just doing what they taught me to do."

"Yes, that is what you were taught." I turn to behold a minotaur towering over me. "But you didn't fight it. You took to it like fuel to a fire." He backhands me into the glowing flames. "You enjoyed it," he rumbles as I shove my way out.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I shriek. "Just please make it stop."

"You only live once, Clove." Stalvo leers as he lands on top of me. "After that, there's no going back." As he raises a forearm to deliver a blow, I realize for the first time just what a monster I was in life. Just how I used my life to harm the innocent. That I'm getting what I deserve right now.

* * *

><p>Time passes. How long have I been here? A day, a month, a year, ten years? Time loses all meaning as I live my afterlife. There's no food and no sleep, but I hardly notice any desire for both. This place doesn't allow for either. Fire licks at my body as I fight my way out of a patch of the stuff. Hellfire burns like ordinary fire, but it can't kill you, just hurt you. What should be third-degree burns on my legs leaves no physical evidence as I run out of the blaze. Suddenly a man hits the ground right next to me. As if it wasn't enough to be locked in a supernatural furnace along with demons as jailors and tormentors, there's also the risk of having a new arrival land on your head.<p>

As I turn away to avoid a tentacle attempting to draw me back into the flames, I hear the man cry out in a familiar voice. "Clove?" In shock, I turn back to behold one of my mentors from my Games. It's Brutus, dressed only in a pair of pants and wearing that look of horror/terror that most newcomers have. Never would I have imagined seeing any expression like that crossing his face. No sooner do I open my mouth to speak than a huge hellhound grabs him from behind and throws him into the inferno I just exited. I run before the hairless monster of a dog can grab me as well.

As I flee, I remember back to when he gave a speech to me and my classmates at the Academy. He preached about emulating the warriors of pre-Panem history, to fight as the Vikings who hoped to win glory and a place in Valhalla did. I watch as one of these very men, a berserker, is pushed into the flames by a Nazi officer, who in turn is wrestled into the blaze by an escaping woman. She screams a line in a foreign language, French perhaps, before running full speed into a demon with an alligator's head.

As he bites her, I laugh. Not at her but at what I was taught. "Is this Valhalla, Brutus? Is this where Odin entertains the best warriors? Because I'm not impressed!" I hope the big oaf can hear me through the din of Hell as I add my music to it. Hell's orchestra. The roar of the fires combined with the screams of its inhabitants and the laughter of the demons create a song that would make Snow straighten up.

Not long after Brutus shows up than more people start arriving. Most of them are District people along with Peacekeepers. It's not long before droves of Capitol people join us down here. I almost enjoy fighting them to stay out of the flames. "Burn you creeps, burn! I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you and your Games," I shriek as I kick a girl my age into the waiting claws of a demon. Outwardly I make all the appearance of blaming them for my afterlife, but on the inside, I know that it's truly my fault for being down here.

Later there's a decrease in the number of newcomers. Since I've arrived I've seen an influx of Victors, District people, Peacekeepers, and even Capitol citizens. Something must be up topside. I'm not able to think much on that since I'm too busy fighting people to avoid the flames. I'm much better at fighting my own kind than I am at avoiding the demons. I used to think that mutts were ugly beasts; they have nothing on the creatures that torment me continually.

I'm suddenly slammed to the ground by an arrival. I jump up and glare at her. She's a middle-aged woman with grey eyes and grey hair that's too perfect to be real. She's staring at me, looking like she knows my face and is trying remember who it belongs to. I hear another scream above me and I look up in time for another arrival to land on top of me. I crawl out from under him to look into the eyes of President Coriolanus Snow of Panem. We stare at each other in recognition. Before either of us can say anything, the woman interrupts us by tackling Snow. "This is all your fault, Snow," she screams as she attempts to strangle him. "You knew and you told her, didn't you?"

Snow manages to shove her off into a patch of hellfire. She screeches and jumps back out. "Why yes, my dear," he grins. "I told your Mockingjay the truth, and she killed you for taking the life of her sister. As to our present location, you would have come here eventually, according to what you were planning to do."

She about to strike him when my old friend Stalvo comes out of nowhere and picks her up like a struggling insect. Snow is grabbed by a vulture-looking thing that joins Stalvo above us. It grins and says, "The type that believe they were doing the right thing and continue to do so while they're here are the most fun. Up for dragging them through the fire, friend Stalvo?"

Stalvo grins terribly. "With joy, Keelrate. With joy." They proceed to fly low over the inferno, dragging Snow and the woman through both the fires and the struggling masses. Their shrieks are audible long after I've lost sight of them.

I turn and continue on my way, avoiding the flames and demons as much as I can. What is happening up there? A coup? A war? Whatever's happened, it's cost Snow his life. I think back to what he said to the woman. The Mockingjay? It can't be the bird. It must be a person of some significance if Snow is referring to whoever it is by their title. What I wouldn't give to hear one of the songbirds right now. Or have a glass of water. Or some warm stew. Or see a glimpse of …

"Cato!" I scream. I see him fighting his way out of a crowd. He sees me, yells my name, and starts running toward me. I break into a run as well. I dodge people intent on staying out of the fire and demons intent on worrying their prey. We're 15 feet away from each other. 10 feet. 5. I can't believe this is happening. How long has he been down here? Did he die in the arena? Yes, he's wearing the clothes he had in the Games. It's a big place, so it's not surprising that we didn't see each other until now. Together, things will be much better with him at my back. We're about to collide when it happens.

I feel the familiar grip of Stalvo's claws dig into my shoulders and hoist me into the air. I see Cato getting grabbed by Keelrate. Keelrate grins up at Stalvo. "How about we drag these lovebirds through the flames, but in different directions?"

"Capital idea," chortles Stalvo. They proceed immediately. I manage to scream Cato's name one last time before I'm sent hurtling along on Stalvo's flight. The pain alternates between burning in the fire and slamming into bodies. Finally he throws me down and prepares to take off again.

"Why?" I scream at him.

He turns and grins. "There can be no comfort in Hell, Clovy." He flies off without another word. That's when it happens. It's been happening since I died, but this finishes it. My spirit truly breaks down, and so do I. I, Clove, tribute of District 2, Career, killer, warrior, am a waste. My entire life was a waste. There's nothing I can do to make anything right. Nothing.

* * *

><p>I have no idea how long I've been down here. Centuries probably. It feels that way. At least it can't get any worse. Until they think up ways to make it worse. A new torture they've come up with (they must have learned it from Snow) is to take on the appearance of your loved ones and then turn back when you come running. They've used that one on me with all my friends and family. I'm recovering from one of those attacks when I feel something.<p>

I jerk away and look up, but there are no flying demons trying to catch me. The feeling only increases. It's like a giant invisible hand is gently picking me up. Before I know it I'm off the burning hot ground and hovering it midair. I'm about a yard in the air when someone sees me and yells. In the immediate area every person and demon turns to look at the commotion and me.

For one moment, everything's in a stunned silence. Then with a roar, the demons charge. I'm suddenly shooting upward at a rate of speed I've never known before. I can hear the frenzied screams of the demons behind me. I risk a look behind me. It looks like all the demons of Hell are trying to catch me, Stalvo at their head. The gentle hand goes faster and faster, and they do their best to catch up. We reach the ceiling of Hell and go right through it without a hiccup. Unfortunately, so do they. As we climb, I find myself praying for the first time in both my life and my afterlife.

We continue flying upward through the ceiling. It looks like it's made of some kind of metal, maybe nickel or iron, maybe both. The solidity of our surroundings soon dissolves into a liquid. It reminds me of all the videos about lava I saw at the Academy. It soon becomes solid rock, but much cooler than the metal. Some of the demons are tiring from the chase and are headed back to the Abyss. Not all of them though. Stalvo is screaming at me as he chases us. This hand has to be from someone, a good someone. Nothing is worse than what I've been through.

Now the rock is cold and full of other minerals. Occasionally we fly through a river of lava. I barely feel the heat before we're out of it. Suddenly we're flying up through water. It's an underground body of water. I can't tell how big it is, but I do notice odd shapes moving around through the darkness. Before I can get a better look at them, we're out of the water and flying through the air and back into rock. By now, only Stalvo follows us. I can feel the heat of his breath on my back. He's angry and he won't stop until I'm back in Hell. At that thought I try to find the hand holding me so I can hold onto it.

Stalvo has almost caught up to me. His hands are about to latch onto me when our surroundings change. I have a brief impression of going through pipes and a floor towards an odd machine. Stalvo's scream fills me with absolute dread. The hand disappears and I suddenly feel like I have been dropped into a pool of freezing cold water.

With a start I realize my eyes are closed and open them in terror. I feel restrained and panic. I scream and start to struggle only to realize that it's not a demonic hand that's holding me down. I'm on some kind of table and I'm in restraints. I'm also in a hospital gown. The table is inside a machine that's powering down. A door at my feet is opening and the table is sliding out. The room outside is white and has the sterilized smell of a hospital. A bunch of people suddenly explode through the doors and surround me. They're looking at the machine and at me, talking, taking notes, and arguing. I start to struggle against the restraints again.

"Out, everyone out. Not you." A woman with blond hair and blue eyes in a suit is shoving them out of the room. Almost everyone. She's allowing one doctor and an older man to stay inside. Once the rest of them are gone and the doors are closed, she turns back to me. She's from the Capitol. I can tell from the polished look, though she doesn't make herself look freakish like most of them do. She studies me for a moment. "Take off the restraints." The doctor does so while she pours two cups of water from a bottle. When the restraints are off, she drinks from one of the cups and then offers the other to me. I stare at it and then grab it. I suck the water into my mouth and let it sit there for a moment before swallowing. Heavenly. My arms feel weaker than usual and my entire body feels stiff and weak.

"Clove, what do you last remember?" She's studying me closely, concerned.

"I never went to sleep. Before this I was in Hell."

They all look at each other and then back at me. "You know that you were dead then." It's a statement, not a question.

I swallow. "Yes." My heart starts pounding and before I know it I'm crying. "I was dead and in Hell." I look up at them through my tears and I suddenly freeze. "Why did you bring me back? If you want me to go back to the arena, I won't." I try to get up to run only to fall down. The doctor catches me before I hit the floor.

"You're not going back into the arena, Clove," the other man says, looking me in the eye. "I've been in the arena. Twice. And I wouldn't put my worst enemy through that."

I recognize him. Beetee, a Victor from District 3. I study him and I see no signs of lying. I lean into the man holding me up and sob into his shoulder. He awkwardly holds me as I just let loose.

"Well, this was different from the last one to come back," the woman mutters.

"There are others?" I gasp.

"Just one. She was the first we brought back and boy, was she mad at us. She told us that we had taken her out of Heaven. We also feared that she was the last. After her, there were six others before you. They stayed dead. What was her name again? She's the girl tribute from District 11 for your Games."

I start and then manage to choke out her name.

"Rue."


	2. Part II: Rue

Part 2: Rue

I'm dying. I knew that I would in the Games, but it's still a shock. I can feel the spear stuck in my stomach up to the shaft, sending sharp bursts of pain through me. Katniss has shot Marvel, the District 1 boy, and I can hear him dying as well. I glance over to see a gaping hole in his throat and an arrow in his hand. He's drowning in his own blood. Suddenly my own death doesn't look so bad.

"Are there more? Are there more?" Katniss is yelling loudly while reloading her bow. I have to say "No" several times before she hears me. That explosion I heard must have deafened her. I was wondering what had caused that when I ran into the net. When I couldn't get out, I whistled the signal so that Katniss would know that I was alive. When I had heard the same melody being sang by the birds again, I had known she was close. My yelling had also attracted Marvel, who had probably set the trap. I've been compared to a bird before, and I had been trapped like one.

I feel her cutting away the net and crouching at my side. I reach out my hand towards her and she takes it, clutching it like it'll keep me from dying. There's no stopping that now.

"You blew up the food?" I whisper, thinking back to the explosion.

"Every last bit," she says.

Without that food, the remaining Careers will be off their game. She has a much better chance at winning now. "You have to win," I say.

"I'm going to. Going to win for both of us now," she assures me. A cannon goes off and I know that Marvel is gone. The light suddenly seems brighter. Fear stabs me as well and I tighten my grip on Katniss's hand.

"Don't go." I don't want to die alone in this strange, terrible place.

"Course not. Staying right here," she says. She moves in closer and pulls my head into her lap. She brushes a few strands of my hair behind my ear. The light seems to be getting brighter. Also, I'm hearing mockingjays from a ways off, and I can smell the wildflowers that are a few steps away. It's like my senses are suddenly being freed and I don't know why.

"Sing," I whisper. Sometimes we would sing while we were gathering in the harvest. I've always enjoyed that, especially when the mockingjays joined in. She hesitates for a moment, coughs, swallows, and then starts.

_Deep in the meadow, under the willow_

_A bed of grass, a soft green pillow_

_Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes_

_And when again they open, the sun will rise._

_Here it's safe, here it's warm_

_Here the daisies guard you from every harm_

_Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true_

_Here is the place where I love you._

I close my eyes as though I were just going to sleep. My breaths are getting shallower by the moment. My life flashes across my closed eyes. My first steps and words, going to school with my siblings, the harvests, the preliminary drawings, the Reaping, the Parade, the Interviews, the Cornucopia, flying through the trees, helping Katniss, setting the first two fires, and now this.

_Deep in the meadow, hidden far away_

_A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray_

_Forget your woes and let your troubles lay_

_And when again it's morning, they'll wash away._

_Here it's safe, here it's warm_

_Here the daisies guard you from every harm_

I can barely hear her now, even as my senses grow. "Why?" I ask myself. "Why couldn't that be the reality instead of the make-believe? To have peace, to just let us live our lives. Is this all there is?"

_Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true_

_Here is the place where I love you._

I just barely catch the end of Katniss's song. It's like some kind of cord has gently snapped and I'm slowly rising through the air. I open my eyes. Somehow I'm above the trees, and yet I'm not panicking. I actually feel peaceful. I look down and there on the ground is Katniss…and me! I look so small. I could be asleep if it wasn't for the spear in my stomach. I hear my cannon go off, far in the distance. The light has grown much stronger now, yet I don't find it blinding. With it comes a desire to close my eyes and sleep. As I close my eyes, my last glimpse of the world is of Katniss picking flowers and putting them on me. Hiding the wound and wreathing me in them. I smile at this last gesture and as I drift off into the sky and sleep, I wish her luck in the Games.

* * *

><p>When I wake, there's nothing but white above me. Cautiously, I raise myself up and look around. There's nothing but white space around me except for a blue glow in the distance. It seems to take the outline of the horizon. Strangely, I'm sitting on a surface that I can't distinguish from the air. I suddenly start hearing things. At first I can't place it. Then I realize that it's singing. It's Katniss's song and it's coming from behind me.<p>

I turn around and jump. Behind me, where I couldn't see it, is a gate. It's beautiful. It's inlaid with gold and studded with pearls. Light is coming through the bars along with the voices. Only one word can describe them: heavenly.

Hesitantly, I walk towards it. I jump backwards when it opens of its own accord. A man in odd clothes walks out. He looks to be in his prime. He has a swarthy complexion, brown hair, and brown eyes. The eyes twinkle and he seems to radiate a kindness that I haven't noticed in anyone besides my family. He smiles down at me.

"Hello, Rue," he says.

I stare at him. "How did you know my name?" I ask.

"I was told your name. I'm Pannol, and I welcome the souls of children who come to these gates," he explains in a kind tone. I suddenly remember the things that Remus Scythe, or 'Uncle' Remus," taught me. He's an elderly man in District 11. He would tell me and the other kids stories from a book called the "Bible." It was a very old book, and he hid it very carefully from our district's Peacekeepers.

The Bible told stories about a single God who created the world and everything in it. When you died, your soul went to one of two places: Heaven, God's home, a place of beauty and happiness, or you went to Hell, a haven for evil and suffering. There were only two ways to get into Heaven: accept Jesus Christ as your savior (whatever that meant), or die before you truly know the difference between right and wrong. Also, the servants of God were called angels, beings who looked like normal people but were much stronger.

"Are you an angel?" I ask quietly.

He smiles. "Yes, young one. You died in the arena, in the Hunger Games, just like the martyrs in the coliseums of ancient Rome." His voice takes on a sad note when he mentions this and the twinkle disappears from his eyes. "You died before you were accountable for your sins. A terrible thing, because you were so young."

I nod. "Uncle Remus was telling us the truth when he was reading from his book then," I say.

The twinkle returns almost immediately. "Yes, and I look forward to meeting him. He is a man that truly deserves the title saint. He has taken such risks spreading the Word. Panem needs it more than any of the nations on Earth."

"There are other countries? Panem's isn't alone in the world?" According to the history books, the only survivors of humanity live in North America, in Panem. Then again, either the Capitol doesn't want us to know about them, or they don't know about them.

"Yes," Pannol answers, "But they are few and far between. Now, ready to see Heaven?" He holds out his hand to me. I stare at it and remember everything that Uncle Remus told us younger ones. That Heaven has no Peacekeepers, no Hunger Games, no Capitol. There's no sadness, or anger, or evil. It's everything the world was before the first two people ate the forbidden fruit. And there's the singing.

I reach out and take his hand. Its warmth sends an odd feeling of safety and security through my arm and into my body, comforting me. It tells me that nothing, not even the Capitol, can ever hurt me again. As we start towards the gate, I stop. "What about Katniss? Will she die too, and come here?"

He looks at me sadly. "I don't know if she'll die in the Games. It's not my place to know that. If she doesn't come to the Son before she dies, she'll never see these gates."

I stare at the ground for a moment, as if my gaze can break through it and see down into the arena, to Katniss. She is so much better than the Careers, than the Capitol. She deserves to be here. From what little I know, Hell doesn't sound like a good place.

"However, there is one who can tell you her destiny," He continues. "She lives now. Her fate is hardly sealed. She may yet come here. Come. There are people that wish to meet you."

We turn back to the gate. It's even more beautiful than from where I woke. The singing is more beautiful as well, and there are flashes of movement coming from within. I clutch Pannol's hand tighter and together, we walk through the gate into Paradise.

* * *

><p>Heaven isn't anything like I imagined or was told. It's even better.<p>

I stare at the landscape as we enter through the gate and the lights fade to reveal …District 11? We're standing in an orchard I know well. It's the one where I work the most since it's the closest to my house. But it's different. The grass feels softer, the leaves seem greener, and the fruit even looks delicious.

Pannol lets go of my hand and I look over at him. He spreads out his hand towards the surrounding, inviting me to explore. I hesitantly walk over to a tree, and then jump up and grab a low branch. I climb along the branch to the main trunk and continue scurrying through the branches until I come out of the leaves on a high branch. Looking down I realize this is much higher than I have climbed before, yet I don't feel afraid.

I whistle the four-note tune I taught Katniss and listen. An instant later, dozens of mockingjay voices start up in song all over the orchard. One of them flies up and lands on my shoulder. Wonderingly, I reach up towards it head and pet it gently. It arches into my hand like a cat, and then hops down onto a neighboring branch.

By now, other songbirds, some of which I've never heard before, have joined the mockingjays with their own songs. The beauty of nature's music is almost hypnotizing. As I listen, I look off into the distance. There are collections of huts in the distance, just like the other District 11, but I can't see any Peacekeepers. Nor do I spy the electric fence that encircles the district.

Around the huts I see people coming and going. My vision is so good I can see their faces in great detail. They all seem familiar, yet I can't place them. I suddenly realize that these people must be the dead relatives of people I know back home. Fascinated, I look towards the place where my family's hut is. It's there along with the other huts, but it's different. It looks bigger and cleaner too. My mother and my sisters and I always made sure the hut wasn't dirty, but there's only so much you can do in District 11. Our hut is a good-sized one compared to the rest but that's only because eight people live under its roof. Well, seven now.

I lean back in the tree and consider it all. The animals are friendlier, the plants are greener, and the huts are cleaner. The people seem happier, and there's not a Peacekeeper or an electric fence in sight. Everything is just so beautiful and happy. This place is just like home, but it's more of a home.

"Rue," Pannol calls. "There someone down here who wants to see you." I sadly leave the beautiful picture and head back down the tree. Who wants to see me? I've lost people I cared for in District 11, so it could be anyone. The answer still surprises me. Standing there with Pannol is Martin, the boy who got killed over those night glasses. It's him, but he too is different. Instead of that wandering look in his eyes, they are bright and alert. As I jump out of the tree, he walks up to me.

"Rue, it's great to see you again," he cries as he pulls me into a hug. I hug him back and then stand back to look at him. He hasn't changed a bit. He hasn't grown and his clothes are the same as the day he died. He has completely lost that "out-of-this-world" look he had back in Panem.

"Martin, it's good to see you," I say. It is. He and I weren't really friends, but we weren't enemies either. I was myself and he was the odd boy of District 11. Seeing him now, here, not dead on the ground, this just brings everything together. It finally hits me; I'm as free as the birds I've been compared to. The Capitol and the Peacekeepers can no longer hurt me or Martin or anyone else here. They can't hurt me, but…

"Rue, what's wrong?" Martin's looking at me concerned.

"It's nothing," I reply. "It's just that everyone back in District 11, my parents, my sisters, your family, they're all back in District 11, where it's still bad. I just wish they could be here with us."

"Your parents are getting closer to the truth, Rue," Pannol says. "And your sisters will follow them as well. Speaking of family, here comes some of yours right now."

There are five people walking towards us. Four of them are adults and the one that isn't appears to be my age. Two of the adults are dressed in what looks like some of kind of uniform. As they come closer I realize that they all look a bit like my parents and sisters. They all stop and smile when they look at me. The oldest man, who is wearing a uniform, crouches down to my level and looks at me. "Hello, Rue. I'm your great-grandfather, Cider. It's good to see you," he says.

I stare at him. "My parents never told me about you," I say.

He nods sadly. "That's because they never got to know us. They did tell you about your grandparents. This," he gestures to the younger couple, "is my daughter Laura and her husband Hayseed, your father's parents. They died a few years before you were born. This is my wife, Sarah. We died in the Rebellion." The older woman wearing a uniform smiles and nods. "And this," He ruffles the hair of the boy, "is your uncle Jayce. He was your father's older brother and a tribute in the 53rd Hunger Games."

He looks at the ground for a moment and then back at me. "Rue, I'm sorry we lost the Rebellion. We never meant for this to happen to you, to die so young. We believed that it couldn't get any worse in the Districts. We were beyond horrified when we learned about the Games. It's the coliseums of Rome, only the combatants are always children. You deserved so much more than what happened to you. Can you ever forgive us?"

I stand there for a moment, and then rush over to hug him. "You didn't create the Hunger Games. You didn't reap me," I say into his chest. I hear, and then feel the rest of my new-found family surround me in a group hug. If only we could've done this without having to die first.

After a moment, Pannol speaks up. "There's one more person that wants to meet you, Rue." Everyone reluctantly parts and stands. Pannol points to the north and I suddenly see a point of light off in the distance. The source seems to take the form of a city, a city that makes the Capitol's beauty seem tawdry.

"Who is it?" I ask, though I think I may already know the answer.

"Jesus Christ of Nazareth," he says. Right then something odd happens. Either the ground is moving beneath our feet or we're moving across the ground at tremendous speed towards the city. As we get closer the glory of the city only intensifies. It's simply huge. The buildings are made of gold and are decorated with gems and pearls. The jewelry from District 1 that I saw in the Capitol is cheap compared to this finery. Everything they consider to be important is truly nothing. As we come to the city's gates, I see the people standing in crowds in the streets and on the rooftops. Here and there are people dressed like Pannol. Most of them are much taller and bigger than the others. They're all singing something. It starts with the words "Amazing Grace."

As we enter I see that the streets are made of gold as well. Also, most of the people are wearing crowns. These range from simple tiaras to elaborate gem-studded crowns. Looking up at my relatives I see that suddenly they are also wearing crowns as well. I notice a sudden weight upon my head. I reach up to feel a tiara with a small stone set in the center. Uncle Remus mentioned something about receiving crowns of glory when we came here. Mine's simple, but I can tell that it's far better than the crown you receive for winning the Games.

We've reached the center of the city. There is a massive palace that seems to climb forever into the sky. The entrances are guarded by massive angels armed with swords that would put Cato's blade to shame with their size and make. They nod to us as we pass. Inside are more people. Their clothes are strange. What's even more unusual is that they're all talking in different languages, yet I can understand them. The names I hear are a bit more familiar: David, Paul, Simon Peter, Timothy, Elijah, Moses, and many more. Names from Uncle Remus's book.

Animals I've never seen before stalk around the legs of the crowd. If anyone notices, it's to reach down and stroke them. Many rooms branch off from the main hallway and I see many things as we go by. One of them is occupied by what looks like a gigantic lizard on two legs. We go by before I can get a better look. Finally we stop in front of a large throne on a raised dais.

A moment passes and then a bright light surrounds the throne. When it dies down three figures occupy the dais. The one on my left is a giant of an angel. He's blond, muscular, easily seven feet tall, and dressed in silver armor. He rests the head of a gigantic mace upon the ground. By the way he grips the hilt, you know that he knows how to use it. The one on my right isn't as big, nor does he wear any armor, but you can tell he's important by the scroll in his hand and the ornate horn he wears by his side. His dark brown curls frame a face that commands respect, but yet belongs to a servant. As much power and respect as these two command, the one in the middle trumps them all.

He's not large or powerful-looking, but there's something about him that just says the word "power." You can almost feel it radiating from his body. The only thing that doesn't make you cower in downright fear is the look in his blue-green eyes. They are a look of absolute love and compassion, a look that makes you want to worship him out of his pure goodness. You can't help but look down at yourself and feel that you don't really belong here no matter how good of a person you are. This, I just know, is the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The angels call out, "Hail the Son of the Most High God!" As everyone kneels before the Son of God, I find it just natural to do the same. It's not conformity that makes me want to kneel; it just feels so natural to do so before Him. It's just as natural to call out with the crowd, "Hail the Son of God, the Lamb who was Slain, the Lord of lords, and the King of kings!" He raises a hand and we rise to our feet. He holds out his hand to…me?

I swallow and after giving a quick look to my family, I start forward. At the same time I'm aware of other people in the crowd moving forward. He called me first, didn't He? I look towards him again and the hand is still held out towards me. I come forward and take it. If Pannol's hand inspired safety and security, Jesus's hand does the same, only with many other feelings on a much larger scale. Safety, security, love, peace, joy, I can't begin to explain them all. He leads me to throne, sits down in it, and settles me on His lap. Strangely, I am aware of others there with Him. It's like all those in the crowd are also meeting with Him privately all at the same time. The children sit in his lap, the older ones stand or kneel in front of Him. I only hear the words meant for me though.

"Hello Rue," He says, smiling. "It's good to meet you. You're familiar with my servant Remus in District 11?"

I nod. "Yes sir. He read us a lot of stories and told us about You and Heaven. He really likes You."

He smiles. "A true Samuel of this age. He has done and risked much for Me and My Kingdom."

I decided to ask what had been on my mind since I had arrived. "Jesus, what will happen to Katniss? She shouldn't die in the arena and I don't want her to go to Hell."

He nods. "Katniss will survive the arena and she will come to Me. But first, many sad and terrible things will happen to her, things that will nearly break her. Things that have started thanks to your alliance in the arena."

I can't help but blanch. "Maybe I shouldn't have stayed after her wounds were healed. If she's going to suffer because I stayed…"

"It happened as it did," He assures me. "Your murder in the arena has started something that will change Katniss, and Panem, forever. The events that happen in this arena will lead to the destruction of those monstrous Games, as well as the fall and punishment of the Capitol for spilling the blood of the innocent and ignoring the helpless." I feel a momentary spark of anger flash off Him towards the Capitol. It's not at me and it lasts only an instant, but I can't help but suppress a shudder. Such power against such atrocities…

"The evil of the Games and the Capitol will turn on its own creators and destroy them. My Word has been ignored for far too long in Panem," He continues. A sorrowful look comes into His eyes. "Oh Panem, oh Panem, how far you have fallen. The people and nation that came before you believed in Me and then fell, leading to their own destruction. You knew their mistakes and vowed to never forget Me nor them. Yet now your own iniquity far outstrips their own. If you are to destroy the cycle, you must have my Word."

He stops and turns to me. "Men like Remus take a great risk in spreading My Word. They will never be forgotten as long as I reign. Rue, never forget this. It will help you soon, far more than you know."

"Yes sir," I answer. "It was nice meeting you, Jesus."

He smiles. "It won't be the last time, Rue. Your story, here and elsewhere, is far from over."

He helps me up and leads me back to the crowd. As I let go of His hand, I notice others moving into the crowd as I do. He must have been talking with them at the same time as I was. What does he mean, never forgetting what Uncle Remus does, or that my story was far from over, here or elsewhere? I'm dead. I can't do anything to help Him or His Kingdom. Maybe I should ask my family about it. Strangely, as I got close, I got the sense that I should keep my conversation with Jesus to myself. That it was for me only. Maybe the answer would become apparent to me as time went on. I had eternity now.

As we found our places with friends and family, Jesus stood to His feet. "My disciples, events have taken place in the nation of Panem that will overturn the evil that has long ruled over that country. A single girl will provide the fire needed to bring down the human servants of the Evil One. Her song will long be remembered in the annals of both Heaven and Earth. Let's sing now."

As one, we open our mouths to start. The angel with the trumpet starts the first verse. I realize that it's the song that Katniss sang over me as I left the Earth behind. I feel the emotions going through those around me as the song progresses. It's just a lullaby, but thanks to Katniss, it now means so much more. Even the huge angel with the mace and the animals seem affected by the song. As we finish the last verse, I realize what's happened. I'm no longer in the arena; I'm in the Meadow.

* * *

><p>Time passes. I watch from above as the 74th Hunger Games plays out. Thresh arrives and I hug him for sparing Katniss. I meet with the other tributes that arrived here and we pray for Katniss to stop the Games. We cheer when Katniss manages to save Peeta and get him crowned victor as well. We thank God for Seneca Crane's decision to let them both live instead of letting them both die, or killing one of them. We know it's wrong on a moral level for Katniss to lead Peeta on like that even though she didn't have a choice. My family and I and Thresh tear up as Peeta donates one month of his and Katniss's winnings to our families for the rest of their lives and Katniss thanks them for us and District 11 for the bread. When Uncle Remus is executed for singing my four-note tune, I'm both horrified at the way he died and elated when he joins us. When Snow announces that the 75th Hunger Games will use the victors instead of normal tributes, I'm only comforted by Jesus's reassurances that this won't lead to Katniss's premature death. What's truly sad about the 3rd Quarter Quell is that only one of the victims arrives in Heaven: Mags of District 4.<p>

The 2nd Rebellion starts up as the resourcefulness and vengeance of the Districts is pitted against the technology and soldiers of the Capitol. The need for God's Word is made obvious by the small amount of souls that ascend into Heaven as compared to the huge masses that descend into Hell. Alma Coin's use of a Capitol hovercraft to kill Capitol children and Primrose Everdeen in order to get the entire nation and Katniss to support her only make this clearer. Prim and I watch with horror as Katniss votes for the Final Hunger Games to avenge her sister. Ironically, it is President Snow (and a nudging of Katniss's memory from God) that saves Panem and the children of the Capitol from Coin's personal brand of perverted morality. Snow was a monster; thank the Lord he was an honest monster.

As Peeta and Katniss recover from their traumatic experiences and settle down together, my heart, and Prim's, are uplifted. No child of theirs, or any other couple, will ever face the death I died. The arenas have been destroyed, and memorials erected in their place, one of them with my name carved in its surface. And yet, something's missing. The Word. Many people live out their lives upon Panem without the Good News, and as each day passes, they come closer and closer to the time of their death. As Katniss and Peeta watch their children play upon a meadow, I watch from Heaven with concern. Katniss voted for the Final Hunger Games, but I know that she isn't a monster. If she commits the Unforgiveable Sin, ignoring Christ's sacrifice and embracing her fallen nature, she will suffer the fate of Snow and Coin and so many others.

One day, 25 years after my death in the arena, I'm called into the presence of the Christ along with five others, Prim included. It isn't often that such a small number is summoned to appear before the Son of God. Of course, everyone in Heaven will know what's being said, but still. As we six kneel before the throne, I can't help but notice something. We all either died in the arena or in the 2nd Rebellion. There's me, Prim, and a man named Boggs who was Katniss's squad leader. There's Circuit Daniels, a lanky 14-year-old from District 3, tribute for the 72nd Hunger Games. Also joining us is Christy Williamson of District 10, killed by a muttation in the Capitol. And finally, Julius Jenkins of District 2, died inside the Nut while spying for the Rebellion. This is getting extremely peculiar.

The hum of conversation among the saints dies down as Jesus, Michael, and Gabriel appear around the throne. Something's up. Michael's clasping and unclasping the handle of his mace, while Gabriel looks like he's going to burst with good news. After the 'hailing,' Jesus stands to speak.

"My disciples, something has occurred in Panem that will bring many lost sheep to the fold. Charis Snow, the granddaughter of Coriolanus Snow, has completed Project Elisha. This project is the crowning jewel of her ambition to redeem the name of Snow and undo the evil her grandfather committed. Her drive is noble, but misdirected. Even so, Project Elisha will bring about the redemption of many in Panem. The project has enabled those on Earth to bring back the dead."

This causes a stir among the saints. If those on Earth could bring back the dead, it means that they could unwillingly be forced back to Earth. Or that beasts like Snow, Hitler, and Vlad the Impaler could escape the horrors of hell. It also means that Christ's death on the cross would be in vain since sin will be punished twice, once for the guilty party and twice by Christ.

The murmuring stops as Christ raises a hand to continue. "They have discovered three factors that determine if someone can live on Earth again. Their age when they died, how much their cadavers have decomposed, and how badly the cause of their demise rendered their bodies. What they don't know is that there is a fourth factor. My permission." The relief is almost tangible. "The time is right. The people of Panem hunger for my Word, even if they don't know it. Those who know the truth about what comes after death are needed. Not all will listen, but sadly, that rarely happens. I've decided that twelve will rise from the dead to minister to the lost. Six will descend from Heaven and six will rise from Hell. You," He points to the six of us, "are the ones from Heaven that I have chosen. Come." He holds out His hands, signaling us to rise and come forward. I'm familiar with this now; each of us only hears what is meant for that one.

I sit in his lap and face Him. "This is what you meant when you said that my story wasn't over?" I ask.

He nods. "Yes, Rue. Your time on Earth isn't over. You need to continue Remus's work."

"Lord, I don't wish to question you like Moses did, but…why me? How can I serve you? I'm just a child," I ask.

"Yes, you're young. You're also as gentle as a dove and as wise as a serpent. Your actions in the arena prove that."

"It wouldn't have been like that if I hadn't been so small and young," I say quietly.

"But it was that way, and it can't be any other way, Rue. It was your innocence and your friendship with Katniss that led to the fall of the Hunger Games. It will be those things that will lead her, and others, to Me. You will be the first one to rise. The second one will ascend from Hell. In regard to this one, remember this. Hate the sins, love the sinner, no matter how bad the sins were. Also, remember the tree where Remus taught you and the other children. Their machine will fire up in one hour. Prepare yourself, my daughter."

As the others and I walk to our loved ones, I go over his advice in my head. Apparently, I'll be working with someone who did some pretty bad things while he/she was alive. The tree bit is easier. The only time I saw Uncle Remus's Bible was at the peach tree at the very back of the orchard where I worked. He must have hidden it somewhere in or around the tree. I'll ask him before I leave.

I'm plied with advice and public displays of affection as I meet up with my friends and family. I promise Martin that I'll tell his parents and sisters that he loves them. I promise Uncle Jayce to tell my father the same. Prim asks me to tell her sister and mother that she'll be coming back as well. I finally get around to asking Uncle Remus about the peach tree. "It's in the hollow right under the old mockingjay nest on the second branch", he tells me. "Take care of that Bible now. It's been in my family for generations."

"I'll make sure it's in my family for generations," I say. For some reason this brings tears (of joy) to the eyes of my grandparents and great-grandparents. After saying goodbye for now to my family, friends, and the mockingjays in Heaven District 11, Pannol leads me back to the gate.

"It's not often this happens, you know," he says. "Only a select few have been allowed to go back to Earth. And as far as I know, only one has been called back from Hell, and he was only in there for half an hour."

"That's half an hour too much," I say, almost shivering. Judging by the ages of the people of the people coming back with me, those coming from Hell could've been in there for 20-30 years. No wonder I'm going first; they're going to need someone from Heaven to help them. I wonder who the first from Hell is going to be. Probably someone I knew in my earthly life. Snow? I hope not. That's not Christian thinking, but I'm still human.

We arrive at the gate and it opens for us. Pannol turns to me. "Goodbye for now, Rue. I hope you live the life you never had."

"So do I." I laugh suddenly. "I just got something through my head. All of my sisters have grown and their children, my nieces and nephews, are about my age. How many times does that happen naturally?"

We've arrived at the gate and it swings out. "More times than you think," Pannol tells me. "I look forward to seeing you again, Rue. Godspeed."

"Godspeed, Pannol." I hug him before walking out the door. I hear it swing shut behind me and I'm left alone in the white space that forms the outer territories of Heaven. I kneel down to pray. I pray for wisdom, guidance, and strength. I pray to be everything that a Child of God should be. I pray that my testimony will be a light for those down in Panem. I barely notice the sensation of being gently lowered down. It's not until I open my eyes that I realize that my journey down to Earth has already started.

I'm flying through space. Stars and galaxies dance around me as I fly by. I go through the tail of a comet and feel its icy chill for only a moment. I watch as a black hole siphons off energy from an orbiting star. Planets without stars fly through the void with me. An asteroid half the size of the moon collides with a small rocky world, tearing it asunder. Three stars orbit one another in a millennia long dance. Before I know it I'm entering the solar system. I admire Saturn's rings as I pass by. Ganymede zooms over my head as I continue my journey. Phobos and Deimos circle Mars. The dark side of the moon is lit up and I admire the half of it that no one ever sees. I come up on Earth and gaze down on the blue-green globe I called home for 12 years. The North American continent comes up fast and almost before I can process it, I fly down through the atmosphere and into a building on the outskirts of the Capitol. I pass through the ceiling and into a strange humming and vibrating machine, into my old body. It feels like I just jumped into a freezing body of water without getting used to it first.

I draw in my first breath of earthly air in 25 years and open my eyes. My clothes from the arena have been replaced by a hospital gown. My body is strapped down to a table within the machine. The humming is dying down and the table is moving out through a small door at my feet. The scent of sanitizer hits my nose. Already I miss the scent of the fruit trees and the incense at the throne room. The table is out of the machine completely now. I turn my head to see about a dozen people standing at the door, staring at me. I clear my throat hesitantly and say, "Hello."

A moment of absolute silence, then it all breaks loose. Some of them yell in exultation. They shake each other's hands and clap each other on the back. Someone produces a bottle of champagne and starts filling up glasses. They almost forget about me, except for one blond woman. She looks polished, like she's a Capitolite that's forgone the crazy fashions that they usually go with. She walks up to me and begins undoing the restraints, smiling the while time. "Hello, my name is Charis. You're Rue, right?"

"Yes. You're the one in charge. You're Snow's granddaughter."

"Yes, Yes," she says excitedly. "That's right, I…" She pales as she suddenly realizes what I just said. She stares at me, clutching at the last restraint. "What did you say?"

"You're Snow's granddaughter and you're in charge of Project…" I screw up my face as I try to remember. "Elisha."

Almost immediately everyone quiets down and stares at me. The man pouring the champagne doesn't notice as the cup he's pouring overflows.

"Rue," starts Charis slowly. "Just how did you know all that?"

"I was told."

"By who?"

"Jesus Christ. You dragged me out of Heaven," I add wryly.

This time the champagne bottle hits the ground and shatters. The room is sent into an uproar once again.

* * *

><p>I sit in my assigned room and study the wall. There are rooms are meant to be temporary homes until we can find places of our own. For the past week it's just been me. They've tried to bring back six people now and they all failed. There are hundreds of pods where they are reconstructing the bodies of those who died in the 2nd Rebellion and in all the Hunger Games back to the 70th. I told them who else would be coming back from Heaven. It's going to take them a couple of weeks for their remains to be restored enough for the "Reviver" to work. Boggs is so close to the age limit that they're not sure if they can bring him back. And Prim's body is far more damaged than the others, so it's going to a few months to finish her.<p>

For the most part my story is met with skepticism. With others, it's downright disbelief. They theorize that it's some kind of dream I came up with as I was being revived to deal with the trauma of dying, that Uncle Remus's stories were taken from my subconscious and used to create my own 'heaven.' I wonder how they'll interpret the story of the first to return from Hell. First someone comes back with stories of Heaven and then the second returns with tales about Hell. They can't ignore stories like that forever. Every time they prepare to bring someone back, I sit in my room and pour my heart out to God, to save some pour soul from the torments of Hell.

The lights flicker, and I know that the machine has been activated. About half an hour later Charis comes into my room and sits down on my bed beside me. She's acting subdued but I see the excitement in her eyes.

"It finally worked again," she tells me.

"And?" I ask.

"She claims she had been in Hell before we revived her." Charis told me she would think about what I told her. Now that a second person has basically confirmed my story, she's probably going to accelerate the repairs on the bodies of Prim, Boggs, Circuit, Christy, and Julius. The sooner that's done, the better.

"Who is it?" I ask. If it's Coin, this'll be harder than anyone else. Well, almost anyone.

The answer sends a shiver up and down my spine.

"Clove Corleone, the female tribute from District 2 for the 74th Hunger Games."


	3. Part III: Saved

Part 3: Saved

I stand there in my shower and just think. It's been two days since they broke me out of Hell. They have me going on some light exercises to relieve the stiffness of my body. They also have me eating this nutrient-rich goop which either tastes bland or downright revolting depending on the intended flavor. However, spending a quarter of a century in the Abyss makes any food taste good. It feels good just to put something in my mouth, make some chewing motions, and then swallow it. The only thing I don't like about meals is the plastic knives. I picked up one to pass it to an intern. For a split second I was in the arena again, preparing to kill. The flashback caused me to yell and drop the knife. After that, no one's allowed to bring any knives, plastic or metal, near me.

The only places I've seen in the building are the Reviver room, the halls, the cafeteria, and my room. These places are familiar to me now, and they feel safe. I remember in the Academy there was this one class where you learned the weak spots of the human body and how to exploit them. The kidneys, the jugular vein, the heart, the vertebrae in the neck, the head, etc. The night after I was revived I had a nightmare. I was walking toward a staircase. As I came up on the first step, I slipped and started to fall down the stairs. As I fall forward, I see a rock waiting for me on the bottom of the stairs. Stalvo sits behind the rock, grinning up at me. "Welcome back," he says just before my head makes contact with the rock. My screams attract the guards and the whole incident earns me a visit to the head doctor in the morning. I'm prescribed pills for the dreams after that. If only there were pills for necrophobia, the fear of death.

The things I enjoy the most are the basics of life. Eating, drinking, sleeping, they're all the simple, essential things of life, yet just doing them is a pleasure. Even washing myself feels good. Hence the reason why I have spent the last hour enjoying a cold shower. This is probably an excellent way to contract pneumonia, but right now, I just let the water flow over me. No fancy foams, shampoos, or perfumed water, just cold, pure water for me. The heat from a hot shower brings back too many memories, so after the actual washing, I just crank the temperature control to as cold as I can stand. I'm probably going to get a lecture from Charis or Beetee about conserving water. I'll listen when that comes around.

Someone knocks on the bathroom door. "Clove, there's someone who wants to see you." I recognize the voice of Garret, a guard from District 11.

I sigh. "Give me a moment, I'll be right out." I reluctantly turn off the water and step out. As I towel off and get my clothes on, I wonder who it is. They haven't told anyone outside the facility, so it can't be my family, who miraculously survived the War. I highly doubt its Rue. It was Marvel who killed her, but I had been one of the Career pack. I don't think she would want anything to do with me after the arena. She probably hates my guts. I've seen her at the mess hall, surrounded by most of the guards and a few of the doctors and interns. She has quite the following. I'm not sure if it's her friendly innocence/cuteness or if it's her role in the Hunger Games. Probably a bit of both. Neither of us tried to talk to the other and that's fine with me. She brings back a lot of painful memories, both earthly and hellish.

I open the bathroom to find her sitting on my bed, talking to Garret about someone named Michael. They abruptly stand up and Garret turns to Rue. "Rue, I'll be outside if you need me." I catch the second meaning to his words as he passes by, eyeing me. He really means, "Yell if she attacks you." Since I came back, I doubt if I'll even be able to hurt an insect after all that.

I hear the door close behind me and I face Rue. What do you say to a person when you had been part of a group who was hunting them and an ally of yours was the one to send them into the afterlife? Apologize right off? Ask them what Heaven was like? I decide to keep it simple. "Hey, Rue."

* * *

><p>"Hey," I answer. She stands there, looking at me and randomly cracking the joints of her fingers. She finishes up with her right hand and continues with her left. Must be a nervous quirk of hers. "What do you think of the food?"<p>

She almost brightens up. "It's good. Not that great on the tongue, but it fills the stomach nicely."

Another moment of silence. What do you say to the person who helped to kill you? I remember looking back after climbing a tree and getting a bird's eye view of the Careers carving up the weaker tributes that had been dumb enough to run to the Cornucopia. Clove had thrown a knife into the back of the fleeing girl from District 7. The girl had gone down with the knife in her back and when had she tried to get up, Clove sent another one into the back of her neck. The image, Clove yelling to the sky as she held the bloody knives in her hands, was burned into my brain. It's one thing to meet someone in Heaven who did stuff like that on Earth. It's another to meet them again on Earth. How do you talk with that person, let alone spread the Word of God with them? Then again, what did that say about me if I couldn't forgive someone after where each of us had been?

"Clove," I start.

"I'm sorry," she blurts out. "I know that I didn't kill you, but I know that I would've if I had the chance." She starts to tear up. "I just wanted to make my district, my family, proud. I just wanted to survive." Tears start flowing. "If I had had any idea what awaited me on the other side I wouldn't have even considered it, I swear. I'm so scared right now. I don't want to die again and go back to that place. What do I do? What do I…?" She's full out sobbing now.

For the first time, I see her as she really is. A victim. Just like me. If anything it was worse for her. She had been trained since childhood to kill. It had been expected of her and she had gone with it, just like any other kid. Even in Heaven I hadn't realized that the Careers, for all their training and bloodlust, were just victims like the rest of us. They're trained to kill for their district and that's all they know. No child should be taught that it's right to kill, except in self-defense.

Impulsively, I start over to her and hug her around the waist (I'm not that tall). I feel her jump and then hug me back. I back up as she falls to her knees, and then I hug her again. She cries into my shoulder as I just stand there, rocking her and whispering that it'll be okay. We're like that for a moment and then she starts pulling back. I let her go. "I forgive you Clove, for everything."

She sniffs and wipes her nose on her sleeve. "Thanks." She swallows and continues. "I'm afraid, Rue. I don't want to die again. Not if I go back to that place."

"How bad was it?" When I see the look on her face I add, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"No, I can do this. You have to tell me about Heaven though," she says.

"Deal," I say. We sit down on her bed and I turn to her expectantly.

She grabs a tissue from a box on her bedside and blows her nose violently. "Alright, first I found myself in a tunnel that was completely straight, yet no matter how long or how far I walked, I would always come back to the same place. Then this really handsome guy named Stalvo came along and when I threatened him about my knives (they were missing), he…tortured me somehow. It felt like I was being stabbed by burning-hot knives all over."

I couldn't help but shiver at this bit. I had heard about Stalvo before Lucifer's rebellion. He had been a friend of Pannol's, in fact, and a gatekeeper. He now enjoyed toying with those who came to Hell's gates before sending them into Hades.

"Then he turned into this thing that looked like a human-bat-lizard muttation. He told me I was at Hell's gate. The tunnel dissolved and I fell for a long way into what looked like a lake of fire. When I landed, I saw that there were patches of clear ground between the flames. There were people, from different times and places, fighting each other to get out of the Hell fires. Monstrous demons tortured us, beating us, throwing us into the flames. It hurt so bad, yet it didn't wound us the same way if it had happened to us here. The sounds are enough to scare anyone straight. The demon's laughter and the sceams. We also had to dodge new arrivals as they fell out of the ceiling. You'll never guess who landed on my head."

"Who?" I ask curiously.

"President Snow. Just before that I got hit by this woman. Weird grey eyes, and grey hair that didn't look natural. She was really mad at Snow for something, something about a 'Mockingjay.'"

"Oh, that was President Alma Coin of District 13. And Katniss was the Mockingjay they were talking about," I reply.

"Charis told me about the Rebellion. Man, never would have thought Everdeen could've pulled that off. Didn't know about that Mockingjay thing, though."

I also saw Brutus and Cato in there. No sooner did Cato and I see each other than they separated us on purpose. 'No comfort in Hell, Clovy,' that's what Stalvo told me. If I could have him for 5 minutes…"

She suddenly brightened up. "Rue, do think they could bring back Cato?" The hope that crosses her face suits her much more than the bloodlust I saw in the arena.

I think for a moment. "It's possible. I mean, God has to approve whose coming back to life. Five more people are supposed to came back from Heaven and five more from Hell. Prim's coming back from Heaven, so it's possible that Cato could come back."

She starts trembling. "It felt like I was down there for centuries. Centuries of dodging arrivals, burning, fighting, and torture. When I was brought up, it felt like a huge gentle hand was holding me the entire time. Stalvo and the other demons chased me up the entire time. He screamed just as I entered my body. Everything seems so, so heavenly after that. Water, food, sleep, no fires, no monsters beating me to a pulp. The only thing I'm afraid of is dying again. Rue," she turned to me, pleadingly. "How do you get into Heaven? If I go back to Hell, I know that there won't another chance of getting out. Please tell me."

I swallow. I've heard the phrase 'moment of truth' from the older saints. This was mine. Best to start with how.

"Alright," I say. "There are two ways to go to Heaven when you die. One way is to die while your mind and heart are still innocent, before you reach the age of accountability. That's when you reach the age at which you're held accountable for your sins. It's different for each person. That's what happened to me the first time. The other, and only, way is to accept Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as your savior."

She looks at me quizzically. "I know about God, and Jesus, from little I've gleaned over the years. But what does that mean, accepting Him as your savior?"

"It means," I explain, "that you admit to Him that you are imperfect, that you have committed sins, that without Him you are helpless and misguided. You recognize His sacrifice for you on the cross, and that you need Him. He loves us all Clove. It's our actions that He hates, that distance us from Him. He takes our sins upon Himself, and so we are freed of them. We then go to Heaven when we die to be with Him."

"What's Heaven like?" She asks quietly. There is a glimmer of hope in her eyes now.

"It's like home, only better. District 11 is there, only there's no Peacekeepers or fences to keep us in. Everything's bigger and cleaner. The mockingjays sing all the time. There's the palace where Jesus holds His court. When we go there we receive crowns depending on our services to Him. Just imagine your life, your world, perfected. What's your home like?"

She smiles. "I live with my parents and my little sister Calliope. My house is in a village two miles from the main settlement of District 2. My Dad worked in a marble quarry. Thanks to my enrollment in the Academy, we were able to afford a very nice house. One of my favorite things to do with my sister was teaching her how to throw a knife in our backyard." A stricken look comes into her eyes right then. "She was enrolled too, and I was helping her to train for the Games…" She stares straight for a moment and then, "There are no Hunger Games now. She's safe. What must she think of me?" Clove starts crying again. "They must all think I'm a monster."

I hurriedly put a hand on her shoulder. "No, no. I watched Katniss on her victory tour. Your family was in tears, and so was Cato's. I don't know what they think of you, but they do love you." I remember something I heard earlier. "Calliope is married with her fifth child on the way. She named her first girl after you. I'm sure she would want her children to know their aunt."

She continues to sob for a few more minutes. She blows her nose violently again and turns to me. "I messed up the first time around. Yes, they put me through that training and the Games, but I still could've chosen not to kill. Those kids probably would have died anyway, and I would still have gone to Hell, but their blood wouldn't be on my hands, their faces in my mind." She stares at the ground and then back at me. "I have a second chance now, and I'm not going to ruin everything again. How do you accept His gift?"

I nod and get off her bed onto my knees. She does the same.

"All you have to do," I say, "is to admit to Him that you're a sinner and imperfect, that you need Him as your savior. Confess your sins to Him and acknowledge His sacrifice on the cross."

* * *

><p>I take a deep breath and psyche myself. I'm going to be pouring my soul out, literally, to a God whose existence I didn't believe in for the first 18 years of my life. If someone had told me on the day of the Reaping that I would die in the arena, go to Hell, and come back 25 years later, I'd report them to the Peacekeepers for insanity. Back then I found the very idea of me losing in the arena to be ludicrous, but now, when I knew just how vulnerable both my physical body and my soul were…this was the only way I wasn't going back to Hell a few decades from now. My life has changed far more than I ever would have guessed it would.<p>

On Reaping Day, if asked what I thought I would be doing in 25 years, I would've said "I'll be preparing in my mansion for my next visit to the Capitol as a mentor." Secretly, I had also hoped that I'd be married to Cato by then. That dream was smashed when Cato volunteered for the arena. He had gotten the highest score of the boys; that's basically a ticket to the Capitol and hopefully glory. Said dream was brought back when the rule change allowing for District partners to win the Games was allowed. If Cato and I had made it to the end, we would've had to fight each other. Neither of us would've thought of using berries to trick the Gamemakers. The frightening thing is that whenever I ask myself if I could've killed Cato, I find myself figuring out how to do it. I definitely need some help in the violence department.

I clear my head and my throat. Time to change everything. I bow my head and start praying. "God, I'm praying to you for the first time. I probably should've done this a long time ago. I just never wanted to believe in a God that would hate the Hunger Games, and I didn't know that much about. I just want to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the murders I committed in the arena, the lies and cheating I did to get on top, the time I had all those girls gang up on my rival, Jaylen, all the times I lusted after…after Cato and other boys." I'm tearing up again.

"I'm sorry for my pride and arrogance, for my selfishness, for all that I've done to put you on that cross. You died for all sinners on that cross, you died for me and that's more than I can understand. I need you now, God. I put my life, both here on Earth and in the afterlife, in your hands. I'm not doing this just because I'm scared of Hell." Now I've got tears running down my face again, but I don't care. It seems fitting.

"I am, but I know that I deserved to be there for everything that I did inside and outside the arena. Just help me to use this second chance you've given me. And please, if…if it's your will, just please bring Cato back. Just to have him alive will be enough." I pause and glance towards Rue, who's praying with me. "How do I stop?"

Rue glances over at me. "I always heard people say, 'In your name I pray, amen.'"

I take a breath. "In your name I pray, amen." All throughout the prayer there was this odd sensation that started at my heart and spread through my body. As I finish, it reaches my extremities. I feel…clean and light, like someone just lifted a weight off my chest and wiped some odious scum from my body. Some of the guilt is still there, but I feel so clean.

I turn towards Rue. She's looking up at me and smiling. I hug her first this time. "Thanks," I breathe into her hair.

"Thank the Lord," she replies. I nod and get up. The clock shows that it's five minutes to lunch.

"Up for some nutrient-rich goop at the cafeteria?" I ask, grinning.

"Sorry. They've moved me up from that stuff. It's grosling soup for me," she answers, grinning back.

"Darn it. One moment." I blow my nose again and go into the bathroom to wipe my eyes. "It's almost time to join your fan base."

"Very funny. You know what this means, right?"

"What? My conversion?"

"It means that we've got to spread the Word. Jesus said that He was allowing twelve people to come back from the dead to spread the Word. Judging from the Hunger Games and the War, Panem really needs it, more than anything else."

I finish wiping my eyes and study them in the mirror. "How are we supposed to do that? Isn't there a book that can help us?"

"Yes, and I know where we can get one. There was this man back in 11, we called him Uncle Remus. He would read the Bible to us kids whenever the Peacekeepers weren't around. In Heaven, he told me I could use it. It's in this one orchard back in District 11."

"Good," I say as I head for the door. "You, I, and the others are going to need all the help we can get. We can plan it all as we eat."

"Best idea I've heard all day," she says.

The look on Garret's face as we exit my room laughing is enough to start another bout. For the first time in a long time, I feel hope for the future. I'm alive, the Games are gone, I have a new friend, a new God, and a new life.


End file.
